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What Nurse Managers and Recruiters Look for When Hiring Nurses – 1/30/2013

Be There, Be All There, and Be There on Time

Every nurse manager and recruiter has his or her own special preferences for nurses he or she employs, so sorting through all the advice online for nursing applicants can become harrowing research. When it's all boiled down, though, recruiters crave one thing across the board: reliability. They need an applicant who can be there, be all there--and for heaven's sake, be there on time.

Be There

In 2010, a
D.C. hospital fired 11 nurses and 5 staffers for missing work during a snowstorm. That’s a little extreme, but a lot of recruiters harp about the nurse attendance issue as a major part of job compatibility: it’s easy to get fired in any job for missing too many days, but with patients depending on nurses to keep them alive, it’s an even bigger deal in healthcare jobs. This means that someone who can demonstrate reliability ahead of time probably has a better shot at that nursing job. The manager likes to know the applicant won’t call out sick every other week, or forget to communicate ahead of time before taking a day off.

How can nursing applicants demonstrate that they will "be there?" Refrain from asking during the interview about leave and vacation, and answer questions with stories that demonstrate consistency. "I often picked up shifts for nurses who called in sick" is music to any recruiter's ears.

"Being there" for a nursing recruiter also means being easy to reach via e-mail and phone. Recruiters get frustrated when they have to go on wild goose-chases every time they need to check on credentials, ask follow-up questions, or request a second interview.

Be All There

Reliability goes beyond just showing up. Recruiters need nurses they can depend on to help uphold their organization. Many recruiters complain about nurses applying without proper credentials or paperwork in order--and well they should, since negligent hiring can cost them in lawsuits and maybe even in lives. In 2011 a nursing home service in Indiana
incurred over $300,000 in penalties for hiring unlicensed individuals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, quoted by the ISO business analytics firm, asserted in 2008 that 13 percent of workplace fatalities in 2006 happened due to violent acts--and in order to prevent dangerous situations, employers need to keep an eye out for folks who may have lost their licenses for violent behavior. One nursing home that failed to screen out a violent unlicensed nurse incurred $235,000 in penalties, according to the ISO.

Nursing applicants should make it a goal to communicate to the recruiter that they're 100% there--that an employer can depend on them not only to avoid nightmares, but also to improve the organization as a whole. Bring several copies of license, resume, awards, continuing education credits, and everything else that shows you're all there when it comes to your nursing job. During the interview, keep eyes focused on the recruiter, without checking fingernails or brushing lint off clothing. Be all there.

Be There On Time

Finally, the mark of a reliable person is punctuality. Adding this to good interview answers--full of stories that emphasize reliability--can improve any nursing job application. Think like a recruiter, remembering that he or she needs someone to trust, and that nursing job might be within reach. Good luck!